The Forest Dunes Golf Club had drawing
power, no question. Lots of golfers came to
play the nationally ranked course designed by
Tom Weiskopf.

However, there was one problem: They
played and left because it was the only course
at the site, located in the Huron National Forest
in an isolated area of Michigan.

After their rounds, golfers typically moved
on to other resorts that offered multiple golf
attractions, said owner Lew Thompson.

“We’d get them either coming or going,” he
said.

The solution was to build another course to
attract those all-important overnight guests to
stay at newly built lodging, Thompson said. A
traditional course could have solved the problem, but he wanted an addition that would be
truly transformative.

You play the course in one direction the first
day and in the opposite direction the next. It’s
not exactly a new idea. Venerable St Andrews
was originally a reversible course.

However, that design strategy hasn’t exactlybeen widely applied since. The Loop is theonly 18-hole reversible course in play in NorthAmerica. Thompson had never heard of theconcept and was initially a bit skeptical.

“People might think it was just a gimmick,”
he said.

Doak lives about an hour away from the
course and wanted to design a course in the
U.S., Thompson said. He’d been working primarily overseas because demand had fizzled
here. Doak told Thompson he’d been “
gnawing” at the idea of a reversible course for 30
years.

So, Thompson agreed. He was a bit nervousas Doak built the course, not knowing what thefinal outcome would be. When it was done andhe and Doak were playing on it, Thompsonasked Doak what he thought. Doak told himit was good. Then he took a few steps, pausedand told Thompson, “It’s really good.”“I’m still amazed at how good it is,”Thompson said.

By the numbers

Construction cost: $3.5 million
Development acreage: 1,365

Course acreage: 250

Green fees: $119 weekdays; $149 weekends

Developer: Lew Thompson

Architect: Tom Doak, Renaissance Golf Design

Contractor: Tom Doak, Renaissance Golf Design

What the judges said:

“A very innovative solution to development
that really does give the owner a talking
point, and excellent reason for guests to stay
for a longer visit. It is cost-effective in both
construction and maintenance and excellent
for the long-term sustainability of this course.

A very dynamic course that looks fun to try to
figure out, again and again.” — Mike DeVries